Scars
by Lariren-Shadow
Summary: It's a week since the wedding and a day since Mako removed the bandages from his arm. There's scarring, he knew that would happen; he sees them as a badge of honor. He still binds the wound on his stomach.


**A/N**: Over on tumblr **fireferretfuzzies** said Zuko and Mako should talk about lightning scars. Here it is.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own.

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><p>It's a week since the wedding and a day since Mako removed the bandages from his arm. There's scarring, he knew that would happen; he sees them as a badge of honor. He still binds the wound on his stomach.<p>

Mako has seen Prince Wu off safely to Ba Sing Se, complete with a whole legion of guards and a proposal for elections. It's going to take a while but the Air Nomads are going to help with the votes. He said goodbye to Bolin as he went off with Opal to promote the new regime.

Then he's left with nothing. Korra and Asami are off exploring the new spirit portal together, evacuees of the city are being told to relocate until further notice. His home, yet again, doesn't exist anymore.

But the police station remained. He spends his days there, answering calls from dislocated former citizens and letting them know the extent of the damage. Sometimes he goes to Air Temple Island to sleep, most nights he sleeps under his desk. That's where Lin finds him.

"You need to move on, kid," she tells him as she sits on the edge of his desk.

"I'm needed here," he replies. "Besides," he smirks, "I'm a detective again and I can't leave my desk."

"There's no place for you to be a detective for."

"But, but," he stammers, "people will come back!"

"To what, Mako? Neither of the spirit portals in the poles have people living around them. The best you can hope for is we move the city somewhere but that's going to take months, years maybe."

"I have no where else to go," he says softly.

"Well," she pauses, "there's always Wu."

"No," he says stubbornly. "Maybe I could go work in Zoafu."

"You don't have the skills."

He's offended. "You believe in me! I managed to get the location of all the Triple Threat headquarters-"

"You're a firebender, not an earthbender. No matter how good you are you won't fit in." Mako wants to add he's half earthbender but knows that's a childish thing to say. "But I might be able to find you something."

"What?" He asks.

"Pack a bag and trust me."

He thinks for a minute. She's never lead him astray before and she always knows what she's doing. "When are we leaving?"

"Two days."

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><p>The airship soars over the ocean and Mako is only a little hesitant that there isn't nice, soft, solid land below them to possibly crash into. Maybe it's because Lin already told him he's being paranoid and that the airship will float if need be. But there's also an anticipation growing in his bones.<p>

He's going to the Fire Nation. He remembers his mother telling him stories about growing up there and promising, when he and Bolin were just a little bit older, that they could all go visit and maybe see her family. He can't remember if she's from Shu Jing or Jang Hui but maybe he'll visit both. After Lin helps him get whatever job she has lined up for him. She promised they would want him and he believes her.

They land by what Mako assumes is the palace. As Lin leads him to the entrance he remembers all the nights he spent sleeping in alleyways. The kid inside him can't believe people are letting him in while the rational adult in him reminds him that this is the third palace he's been to.

"You're going to be interviewing for a position in the police force in Caldera City," Lin tells him as he trails behind her.

"And why are we here?"

"There's an outdated and rarely used law that if you impress the Fire Lord you get whatever position you want if you're a Fire Nation citizen." He stops dead in his tracks.

"I'm not," he tells her. "I'm a citizen of the United Republic."

Lin rolls her eyes. "Don't think I don't know that. But," she begins, "your mother was born here and you, as the child of a citizen born in the colonies and a firebender, have every right to Fire Nation citizenship."

"They're not colonies anymore."

Lin waves her hand. "I know this, you know this, Izumi knows this, but the loophole is that this will expire after such a time when the former colony has been independent for longer than it was part of the Fire Nation and, kid, you were born in the oldest one." He's slightly flattered that Lin did this much research to get him a new job. "You either pass this or consider joining the United Forces." He's a little less flattered.

The walk through a large doorway and Mako squints as his eyes adjust back to the bright sunshine from the gloom of the palace.

"Uncle," Lin greets Zuko, who is sitting on the edge of a sparring arena, sipping tea while his dragon lays next to him. "Where's Izumi?"

"One of the volcanoes in the southern island erupted. She went to go survey the damage for herself. She trusts me to make sure the kid will impress her," he says with a smile. "I already know he can think of ways to find people." Mako's fingers twitch at the praise. He only wanted to find Korra and it never seemed like a big deal to him. "When you're ready show my your firebending but hurry up, I can feel a storm coming." Mako looks at the sky and notices a few clouds on the horizon.

He begins his stretches as Lin takes a seat next to Zuko and accepts the cup of tea he offers. It's been awhile since he's done firebending for anything more than quick attacks. He's not sure what will impress someone who tamed a dragon but he has to try.

He starts with probending practice. Quick jabs with power behind them morph into kicks that send archs of flame into the sky. He glances at his observers: both of their faces betray nothing. He puts more power behind his fire. He remembers all the match winning moves he's done and his fists light. He punches fire through the air and breaths in ash to get more fuel.

Sweat makes his shirt stick to his body and soon it's becoming a hindrance. He sends a few more jets out before centering himself. Lightning for last. He feels the energies separate and guides them. Soon his fingers tingle and he shoots a bolt out.

"Impressive," Zuko says and Mako hopes he's done it. He walks over to where they are sitting and towels off before accepting the offered tea. "What happened to your hand?"

Mako almost chokes. "Accident," he says. He's almost forgotten about the scar on his left hand and slowly the hand not holding the tea cup rests on the matching one on his stomach.

Zuko nods and the subject is dropped.

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><p>They eat dinner with Zuko that night. Mako's twitchy, the storm has settled over the city and he can smell the lightning in the air. His stomach tingles and he keeps rubbing the new scar there. He can feel Zuko's eyes on him and it makes him uncomfortable.<p>

"Lin do you think you can pull Izumi away from her office for after dinner tea?" Zuko asks as the last dishes were cleared.

"What makes you think I can do that?" Lin replies

"Because she knows all the ways that I try to guilt her into joining me and you managed to get Aang to let you ride on his back for an entire day once." Lin smirks at the memory. Mako tries not to squirm when Zuko glances at him. "Please."

Lin looks between the two firebenders and shrugs. "If you scare the kid I'll know about it," she says before she stands. "Mako, don't back down." He's flattered by her confidence in him.

He watches Lin leave and waits. Zuko sits patiently, never letting his eyes leave Mako. "Those weren't an accident," Zuko says calmly.

"What aren't?" Is the best response Mako can come up with.

"The scar on your arm and the one on your chest."

"How did you-?" He begins to question before realizing his movements might have been obvious and his left arm has seen better days. "I used lightning to destroy the Colossus that Kuvira used."

"How?"

"How what?"

"How did you use lightning?"

He thinks. He knew the energy needed to be moved and he knew how it could pass through his body. He'd taken a chance, a dangerous one, but one he knew needed to be done. "I channeled it through me. It got a little out of control at the end." His hand rests on his stomach.

"You redirected the lightning." His lack of understanding shows on his face. "It's a move my uncle taught me. You let the energy enter your fingertips, travel down through your stomach, and out through your other hand. If you do it wrong, it will leave a mark, or even kill you." Mako watches the old man place a hand on his own stomach. "But its always worth the risk."

He nods. They lapse into silence. Mako wants to ask what it felt like when Zuko did it but he's not sure when the accident happened. Instead he asks "will the tingling stop?" and immediately regrets the question.

Zuko laughs. "Not for me."

"We're here," Izumi announces as she walks in. "You can stop with the questions now."

"I am mildly offended that you two think so little of me. I was merely asking about Iroh." He's impressed with that lie.

"You've met my son?" The Fire Lord asks.

Mako nods. He's saved from any further explanation by tea being served.

Months later, when the late summer storms cackle with light and his skin hums with the electricity in the air Mako reads the headline in the paper of the first elections in the Earth States before spotting the secondary headline proclaiming that Future Industries has expanded to the South Pole with the help of the Avatar. He massages the scar on his stomach and reminds himself that yes, it was worth it.

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><p><strong>Reviews are awesome.<strong>


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